Developing optimal grow-out culture systems and diets for green sea urchin juveniles

Description

The general objective of the project is the development and testing of systems and diets for on-growing juvenile and sub-adult sea urchins. Specifically, this project aims to:

• Obtain a good understanding of the dietary requirements, feeding and growth of post-larval green sea urchins.
• Determine the effects of different diatom strains on early survival and growth.
• Determine the effect of initial food quality on longer term juvenile survival and growth.
• Develop a good understanding of the feeding and growth of young sea urchins and identify optimal diet items for the critical early life-history stages.
• Develop effective systems for growing out juvenile sea urchins. This involves system design, water flow patterns and investigating the potential for re-circulation technology.
• Determine essential rearing parameters such as adequate water renewal rates, optimal stocking densities, optimal rearing temperatures and salinities etc.
• Determine the essential dietary components in prepared feeds for on-growing juvenile sea urchins.
• Investigate the potential of developing low-cost but effective prepared diets for sea urchin growth and roe-enhancement.

Program Name

Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP)

Year(s)

2002 - 2005

Ecoregion(s)

National

Principal Investigator(s)

Chris Pearce
Email: PearceC@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca